Fire-stop for corrugated-metal shutters.



J. G. WILSON.

FIRE STOP FOB CORRUGATED METAL SHUTTEBS.

APPLIOATIOE' IILBD MAY 19, 1909.

Patented Aug. 30, 1910.

ATTORNEYS JAMES G. 'WILSGN,

or Laacniviontr.

on fr w anti a.

NEEV YORK.

FIRE-STOP FOR CORRUGATED-METAL SHUTTERS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed May 19. 1903. Serial No. 496.9. '7.

To (ZZZ whom is may concern:

llo it known that 1, JAMES G. Yl nisox, av subject of the King of Great. Britain. and a resident of Larchmont, llestchester county, State of New Yorkfhave invented certain new and useful Improvements in .Firo-btops for Corrugated-Metal vi huttcrs, or which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to shutters of tire resistant material preferably of sheet metal and sliding in suitable guides or run ays,

and has particular reterence to such shutters when of the well known corrugated type, whether the shutter be in one pit-cc or in several pieces.

My invention is also ai iplicablc to such shutters whether arranged to open straight away or to be coiled, although. I prefer the latter arrangement.

The object of my invention is, l roadl speaking, to insure a closer (than is usual) junction between the shutter edges and "he guides.

Shutters of the, above generally described type. are used to protect door and window openings in case of fire, and are either thrown into place by intention or,in many cases, automatically. Complete protection from fire properly means not only protec tion from dir ct action of the flame and transference of heat, but should also include a. complete cutting oil of smoke and vapors, the cll'ect of which, in many cases, is more damaging to merclnindiso as well as more dangerous to lite, than the tire itself.

So far as I am aware, shutters of the above mentioned type as heretofore made have had openings or passage, ways of considerable aggregatc'area between the shut ter edges and thoir inclosing guides, thereby readily permitting the smoke, flame or vapor laden air to pass around such shutter edges or across the door or window opening into the room or rooms to be protected. This has necessarily resulted by reason of the fact that lateral play between the shutter edges and the guide bottoms, and transverse play between said edges and thegroove sides has been required to make the shutter normally operable withoutexcessive "friction.

faecomplish my invention by placing on one or both sides of each shutter, at each edge thereof and in each corrugation, a permanently attached metal stop or abutment which substantially fills said corrugation at the edge so as to fill the space bounded by the bottom and sides of the groove and the :ulyaccnt side oi: the cmbracinc guide. This stop takes the form of a blockwhich may be either solid or hollow and which, although it may only incompletely bridge (with the shutter) the space between the guide walls thereby not materially increasing the sliding friction over that which obtains for the shutter alone. without my stops may yet be suiliciently long 0., in the direction, of the shutters width) to introduce excessive air friction and thus substantially seal the passage.

Referring to the, drawings, Figure 1 illustrates, in section, av portion of a. preferred form of corrugated shutter showing my stops in place; Fig. 2 a similar section to smaller scale showing the relation of the individual stops to their corrugations when the shutter is coiled, Fig. 3 is a perspective view oi" one of the stops removed from the shutter; and Fig". l is a section taken along the line of Fig.1.

A. is a ilexihlc metallic shutter uniformly corrugaied as a, Z), and l; one of the lateral guides or runways in which the shutter 11ormall slides.

(l is a roll or drum, controlled in any suitable way as is well known in the art, upon which the shutter is coiled when its opening is cleared.

On one or both sides of the shutter at each edpc and in each corrugatimi is my stop T).

This should be of fire resistant material, preferably either a solid or hollow casting. This block is. in section, substantially three sided. two of the sides r, (l, converging from a straight side so as to contorm tothc shape of tho corrugation, saio sides merging into one. another so as to form a curvet-L apex (3 also conforming to the groove at its bottom. Tho depth or thickness of the block from its apex to the straight side 0 substantially the depth of thecorrugation, and when the block is properly set, thestraight side? is parallel with the sidcs of the guide and substantially in line'wilh thel'iighcst points of tho shutter on thc' side under consideration,

The length of the block ("in-thedirection of tho shuttefiswidth) is preferably about equal to the depth of theguide in which the shutter moves. in practice,'1 prefer to form upon the end of each block. away from the shutter edge, an extension or projection f which in section conforms to the groove just does the block proper, but the depth of stantially prevented or, at any rate,

said extension is only about one half that of the block, the function of the extension being purely to assist in fastening the block to the shutter and in steadying the same thereon.

To fasten my improved stop to the shutter I drill two holes 9 and h at right angles to the face 6 and in the center line of the stop and its extension respectively, and into these holes I place rivets h which are upset in corresponding holes piercing the bottoms of the corrugations. By fastening the stop in this manner, it exercises no constraint whatever upon the shutter, and the latter will readily coil upon its drum G. I

As described and if placed on one face only of the shutter the stops do not entirely close the free spaces at the shutter edge so as to prevent transmission of smoke and gases around such edge, and the spaces between the corners i, j, of the blocks are left uncovered; but, in practice, I find that from to 85% of the total originally open spaces may thus be blocked off so that the passage of fire, smoke and hot gases is sub' greatly diminished. If stops are, however, placed in each corrugation on each face of the shutter it is possible to block olf all the edge space. This may be done nicely and is, indeed, preferable on a shutter sliding straight away but on a shutter intended to coil I prefer the stops placed only on the outer face of said shutter (2'. e. on the face away from center of coil C) as, so placed, the shutter retains a maximum of flexibility the sides of the corrugations opening away from the stops upon the outside of the coil (see Fig. 2) and shnilarly approachingnpon the inner face of the shutter next said coil as the shutter is coiled wherel l l l l l l as with stops on the'inner face only or on both faces of the shutter this approach of the walls of the corrugations on said inner face is not possible by reason of the stops which have been made to completely fill said corrugations; the shutter is therefore stifi and hard to roll as compared with its condition when the stops are on its outer face only.

My invention is effective, simple and easy to apply and Having now hereby claim- 1. In a corrugated fire resistant shutter, sliding in guides, individual fire stops in the corrugations at the shutter edges, said stops lying wholly within the shutter edge, substai'ltially as and for the purpose described.

.2. In a corrugated fire resistant shutter, s ding in guides, individual fire stops in the corrugations at the shutter edges, said stops lying entirely on one side of said shutter, substantially as and for the purpose described.

3. In combination, a corrugated fire 'resistant shutter, parallel guides arranged to engage the edges of said shutter, and a plurality of individual fire stops in the corrugations and within said guides, each of said stops lying wholly within the shutter ed e and wholly on one side of said shutter, su stantially as and for the purpose described.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

fully disclosed the same I JAMES G. WILSON.

Witnesses:

ELMER G. WiLLYoUNc, JOHN A. KEIILENBECK. 

